MV Chinook was a luxury automobile ferry designed by William Francis Gibbs,[3] that operated between Seattle, Port Angeles and Victoria under the ownership of Puget Sound Navigation Company.[4]
MV Chinook was built in 1947 by Todd Shipyard, in Seattle, and entered service with Puget Sound Navigation Company. Upon entering service the vessel proved to be quite successful. But by the time the vessel had entered service, Black Ball Line was undergoing fare cuts, worker strikes, and other problems. In 1950 Washington State purchased Puget Sound Navigation Company. The State of Washington took over its operations in 1951, the Chinook was still occasionally seen departing Coleman Ferry Dock for trips to Port Angeles and Victoria.
The vessel was removed from the route in 1954 and transferred to Black Ball Ferry Line. In 1955 the vessel was moved into Esquimalt Greaving Dock for annual refit. The refit however was much more extensive and included modifications to the Chinook's bow to allow bow loading. The vessel's state rooms were also removed during the refit. Later that year the vessel was moved to the Black Ball Lines, the Horseshoe Bay - Nanaimo run alongside the MV Kahloke. Shortly after obtaining a Canadian Registry, it was discovered that another vessel with a Canadian registry was named Chinook, Black Ball finally decided to change the MV Chinook name by adding the Roman numeral II to the end.